


The Letter

by martialartist816



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Longing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 17:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5385029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martialartist816/pseuds/martialartist816
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It always goes in a circle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Letter

Elizabeth hummed as she wrote, pen scratching out words on the parchment paper spread over her bedroom desk. Her sweet voice filled the entire tower with the melancholy tune of “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” She began the letter with “my dearest Booker,” and by the time she signed it with “always yours,” the candle at the edge of the desk had burned itself to half-mast.

She read over her words once, each sentence memorized from all the identical letters she’s written to Booker in the past. After the letter had been twice folded and slid into an envelope, Elizabeth pressed a kiss to the cooled wax seal and stood. In the middle of the room, she extended the hand holding the letter, seemingly reaching for empty space. But as her arm straightened, the first two corners of the envelope disappeared behind a blueish ribbon of light.

Elizabeth smiled and let out a breath. She willed the tear to open wider and receive her letter. The portal glowed and grew, wrapping around the parchment and her fingers. She really should just let it go and send the letter off to wherever it may land, whether it be to the bottom of the ocean or in a baby’s cradle or under the wheels of a random street vendor in Paris. She couldn’t control where her letter would wind up, but she liked to think that the universe worked in her favor. Fate was funny that way…

Temptation tugged at her hand and her heart, so after a steadying breath, she took one step forward and let the tear consume her.

On the other side, she was met with a surge of white light until it dulled enough for her to see. Behind her, the tear remained open. Elizabeth looked around at all the stars in the otherwise pitch-dark space. She stood on a dock in front of an old lighthouse, and each and every star she saw was the bright beacon at the tops of lighthouses. There were millions upon millions, and the sight never ceased to amaze her.

Gifted with sight, but as fate would have it (fate was still funny that way), she could never see which doors led to Booker. If she could somehow see where he was, Elizabeth knew she would leave her life at Monument Island behind just to follow him. Her only solace was her letters, and she wrote them every day.

The boards of the dock creaked below her shoes as she strolled forward, letter clutched close to her chest. She didn’t see anyone else in this limbo, not another her and not another Booker. The next lighthouse she came to looked exactly like the one she started at. Inside, she could see a world that looked equal to her own. Almost equal. Each door meant something different. It could be as simple as the name a child was given at birth or as complex as the discovery of space-suspended atoms.

Elizabeth stopped at the door of this lighthouse, stuck in contemplation if this was a good destination or not. Her decision was cut short when the tear behind her began closing. Rushed, she opened the lighthouse door, tossed the letter inside, and ran back to the tear just before it shut on her.

Back in her room, she placed a hand on her chest as she caught her breath. She was home again, another adventure missed out on. What would be so terrible if she walked through a different door for once? Who was to say she had to stay there as a prisoner? There were infinite worlds out there, so couldn’t she be the one who did something radical? But she knew the answer, which is why she stayed where she was. Something snagged at her soul every time she considered leaving. She took that as a sign that this tower was where she was meant to be. Even though she didn’t like it, this was the world where Elizabeth Comstock waited to be rescued. There was another universe out there where things were different, and she had to accept that.

Elizabeth perked up when she heard a sudden whistle melody of C-A-G-E echoed into her room. Songbird was on his way, so she quickly opened her window to see what he needed.

The great mechanical bird flapped toward her open window, bringing a gust of cool air with him. Elizabeth laughed when her hair was ruffled from the wind and reached out her right hand to stroke Songbird’s beak.

She stared into his glass, green eye, and he spoke to her.

_“He’s coming…”_

Elizabeth pulled her hand away, her smile fading.

He’s coming. Booker…

She gave Songbird a thanking nod before dashing out of her room. She ran all the way to the large library at the top of the floating monument. At the window, she waited for her prince to fall from the sky.

 

* * *

 

After the last solider fell at Peking, Booker grimaced. His huffing breath turned to smoke in the cold, snowy air, and he knelt down to loot the body for any goods.

He found only typical things at first: ammo, chewing gum, and preserved snacks. But the last pocket he checked contained what felt like paper. Curious, Booker pulled it out and saw that it was a letter.

Strange. Soldiers don’t typically carry around letters unless they’re sentimental like that.

Booker was about to leave the damn thing and return to camp, but something caught his eye.

The feminine script on the envelope was addressed to him.

“Booker DeWitt.” Unmistakably meant for him.

Booker opened the letter right there on the blood-soaked battlefield, wondering who on earth would care to write to scum like him.


End file.
